CALIFORNIA STORMS
Cold Pacific storm brings rain, snow, traffic woes to California, but burn areas OK so far
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A cold Pacific rainstorm is drenching California and dramatically dropping snow levels, bringing the usual spate of commuter calamities but so far sparing foothill burn areas of feared mud and debris flows.
Jackknifed big-rigs, spun out vehicles and snow in the mountain passes made the morning commute a nightmare.
Residents below the fire-scarred Angeles National Forest burn area are on alert as the rains test barricades and debris basins designed to keep mud from oozing into homes. Snow falling above homes in the La Crescenta area north of Los Angeles may be preventing flash flooding.
The National Weather Service says an inch or two of rain can be expected in many areas as the first round of storms rolls through the region. Up to four inches is possible in some areas with the heaviest downpours and strong winds forecast in the late afternoon.
Elsewhere, the hills east of San Francisco Bay saw a rare overnight dusting of snow, with snow also predicted for Fresno and other Central Valley communities.
Up to a half-inch of snow fell overnight around Danville near the base of Mount Diablo east of San Jose.
In the Central Valley, California's agricultural heart, Modesto residents also woke up to the unusual sight of snow. A hard freeze was expected with lows in the upper 20s.
Several roads in the San Gabriel Mountains, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles, were closed because of concerns that as much as three-quarters of an inch of rain an hour could fall, sweeping rocks and mud from slopes left naked by the huge Station Fire earlier this year.
The summer blaze burned 250 square miles of forest and 89 homes.
SPACE TOURISM
Virgin Galactic to unveil commercial spaceship 5 years after first private spaceflight
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — After five years of secret construction, the cloak is coming off a privately funded spacecraft designed to fly well-heeled tourists into space.
SpaceShipTwo is being rolled out in the Mojave Desert this afternoon (4 p.m.) in what organizers call a "theatrical unveil" and cocktail party.
The suborbital space rides are being marketed by Virgin Galactic, which is bankrolled by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who partnered with famed aviation designer Burt Rutan.
SpaceShipTwo's debut marks the first public appearance of a commercial passenger spacecraft.
SpaceShipTwo is based on Rutan's design of a stubby white prototype called SpaceShipOne. In 2004, SpaceShipOne captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first privately manned craft to reach space.
Branson says he, his family and Rutan would be the first people to make the trip in space aboard the craft, ushering in an era when people can "become astronauts."
CABINET KILLS BOY
Modesto parents mourn death of their son crushed by cabinet as they left foreclosed home
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — A 5-year-old Modesto boy was killed when a cabinet fell on him while his parents were moving out of their foreclosed home.
Robert Martinez Jr.'s parents were moving furniture out of the house and into a garage to stage it for loading into a truck.
Family members say the boy opened the garage door yesterday when no one was looking and the door hit a cabinet, causing it to teeter. The boy tried to stop the cabinet from tipping, and it fell on him.
The boy died at Memorial Medical Center.
DRONE PATROLS
US Customs and Border Protection say they will use unmanned Predators to hunt ocean smugglers
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Predator drones may soon be scanning U.S. waters for smugglers.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it's buying two Predator B aircraft for sea patrols. The models to be rolled out Monday at the manufacturer's plant in Palmdale have radar sensors that can detect boats. They could be in action early next year.
Agency officials say one will be tested in the Caribbean, with a base in Florida, but it could be used to aid patrols in the San Diego area.
A second Predator will be based in Corpus Christi, Texas, for use in the Gulf of Mexico.
The remote-controlled drones will look for smugglers of drugs and illegal immigrants.
A different Predator version already is used for land patrols in Arizona and North Dakota.
RADIATION OVERDOSES
FDA says 50 more patients exposed to dangerous radiation at Los Angeles hospital
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health regulators have identified 50 more patients exposed to dangerous radiation levels from brain scans at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The Food and Drug Administration says today that more than 250 patients at Cedars-Sinai have received dangerous CT scans in the last 18 months. The brain scans are used to diagnose strokes.
The agency reported in October that more than 200 patients at the hospital had received up to eight times the level of radiation expected during their scans.
FDA officials say it's unclear whether the problems are being caused by human error or a problem with CT equipment.
Cedars-Sinai uses a scanner from General Electric. But FDA officials have reported problems at other hospitals using different brands of scanners, including models from Toshiba.
A GE spokesman says there were no malfunctions or defects in any GE equipment and the company is cooperating with the FDA's investigation.
FDA officials told reporters they also are investigating 14 reports of excess radiation at Glendale Adventist Medical Center and an unspecified number of problems at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.
The agency also is investigating similar reports from other states.
MISSING CHEF
FBI investigating Italian chef's disappearance during Caribbean cruise
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI has joined in an investigation into the disappearance of an Italian chef believed to have gone overboard from an American cruise ship.
The Princess Cruises ship Coral Princess docked at the Port of Los Angeles this morning.
A Princess Cruises spokeswoman says chef Angelo Faliva was last seen on a deck Nov. 26 as the ship sailed from Aruba to Colombia. Julie Benson said a search of the ship and a review of security cameras came up empty.
Relatives of the 31-year-old chef said they had been told that he unexpectedly walked out of the ship's galley the night before
SUPREME COURT-CAMPUS CHRISTIANS
U.S. Supreme Court to decide if college group must allow gays, nonbelievers to get university nod
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a San Francisco law school must force a Christian group to admit homosexuals and nonbelievers to gain stature as an official campus organization.
The high court today agreed to hear an appeal from a chapter of the Christian Legal Society at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law.
A federal judge had turned aside the group's attempt to force the school to give it campus funding and other benefits without opening its membership to gays, lesbians and nonbelievers -- a requirement of the San Francisco school.
The 30-member Hastings group was told in 2004 that it was being denied recognition, including university funding and benefits, because of its policy of exclusion.
DETECTIVE KILLING
LAPD detective accused of murder faces hearing
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss charges against a veteran Los Angeles police detective charged with the decades-old killing of her ex-boyfriend's wife.
Superior Court Judge Robert Perry says 49-year-old Stephanie Lazarus' rights to a fair trial were not violated. Defense attorney Mark Overland had argued that LAPD investigators were negligent and showed reckless disregard in the probe of their colleague.
Lazarus is charged with murder in the February 1986 shooting death of Sherri Rasmussen.
Lazarus was tied to the killing of Sherri Rasmussen by a DNA match of saliva taken from bite marks on the 29-year-old victim.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a burglary. Lazarus also faces a separate allegation of personal use of a handgun.
